Alessia Cara

“Other than the 'Sesame Street' soundtrack, which I was obsessed with, the first artist I really felt I'd discovered on my own was Amy Winehouse. She was the first female artist I wanted to w...”

“I loved the Black Eyed Peas. I was obsessed with them, and they were my favorite group ever, and Amy Winehouse, as well; I love her.”

“I wanted to get through high school anonymously.”

“I've never hosted a party in my life, not even my own birthday party. I'd feel really uncomfortable saying, 'Hey everybody, let's celebrate me!' But I'm not antisocial. I don't hate people.”

“I just try to tell my stories in a way that is still light-hearted and fun to listen to. I'm not trying to bash you over the head with what I have to say.”

“I never really necessarily liked being quiet.”

“Body image is something that girls struggle with every day, and it's something that I struggle with every day.”

“I don't want to be cliched, but Buckingham Palace is beautiful, and the old red telephone booths are really interesting to me. I've always wanted to see those.”

“I really want to speak for young women, especially because I feel like we're constantly brainwashed in everyday life.”

“I was too shy to do any vocal lessons or go to choirs; I just didn't want to be seen doing it. It's something that I kept to myself. I started easing into it, and I started doing talent show...”

“In late elementary school, early high school, I started losing my hair in chunks in the shower. It was one of the scariest things. It got to the point where it was visibly gone.”

“In second grade, I told a bunch of kids there was a homeless person living between the portable classrooms outside our school. It caused panic, and the principal had to announce on the P.A....”

“I think the world is very closed-minded sometimes and very dated. We need to start opening our minds.”

“When I was really young, I was convinced I wanted to be a visual artist. I would paint and draw and make crafts.”

“I keep my hair curly and natural because I really just wanna show who I am.”

“I don't want to have one hit, one song of the summer, and then have me disappear forever. I really want my things to last, and I want my songs and my bodies of work to resonate with people....”

“I think the media can definitely show more diversity - different sizes of women, different colours of women, just more diversity in general.”

“Having a mom as a hairdresser was really awesome: I was always her test dummy. I've had every style, every color you could imagine.”

“If Ed Sheeran covered my songs, I would die. That would be unbelievable.”

“I was one of those weird kids who didn't really speak or smile. I remember my teachers would call home and ask if everything was fine at home because I would never smile. Then I got into thi...”